Champions of Galar
by JDunks896
Summary: In the Galar Region, youths are endorsed to take on the Gym Challenge and become the new Champion. Four such youths have started their journey through the land they call home: A boy who can speak to Pokemon, a teen thirsting for knowledge, a girl who loves violence, and their friend who's just trying to stay sane. This... will not end well. Rated T just in case.
1. Fulgur Electrocutes A Teenager

"Ugh, do I have to do this?"

"Yes. People want to know the story of the kid who almost defeated the Champion, so you're making an audiobook of it, and you'll _like _it."

"Fine... okay, good, this thing's on. Well, hello, readers. My name is Vincent Prince, and this is the story of how I defeated the Cham- ow! Booster!"

"Cinda!"

"Alright, credit where it's due. This is the story of how _we _defeated the Champion- me and my team. So, why don't we get into this stupid thing I have to- OW! SUMMER!"

…

It was a lovely peaceful day in the tiny town of Postwick. The sun was shining, the Wooloo were grazing, and people were... checking their watches and plugging their ears?

One resident raised an eyebrow. "Now?"

The other he was talking to nodded. "Oh yeah, right about..."

In one of the houses (which, notably, had a sleeping Stonjouner on the lawn), a window flashed with sudden yellow light, and a high-pitched scream broke the silence of the sleepy settlement. "AGHHHH! FULGUR! I'M GOING TO _KILL _YOU- GET BACK HERE YOU BLOODY STUPID RODENT!"

A minute later, a Pikachu darted out of the house, followed closely by a teenage boy with a honey-blond bowl cut, blue eyes gleaming with murderous intent. "FULGUR! GET BACK HERE!"

Several alarmed bleats rang out as Fulgur darted into a Wooloo pasture, running under the sheeplike Pokemon, aiming for a Bewear wrestling with a large Dubwool- probably the leader of the flock. The boy was forced to go around them- Wait, Bewear? _Please don't see me, please don't see me!_

The Bewear saw him and swept him immediately into a hug, laughing merrily at the top of her lungs. The boy struggled fiercely. "Ack! Cuddles! Let go of me!"

An amused chuckle rang out, a tall man walking over alongside a Golisopod, looking almost like an older version of the boy- well, if the boy's eyes were brown, at any rate. "Vincent, you can't escape Cuddles when she wants to... well, cuddle. You may as well stop resisting."

Fulgur darted up onto the man's shoulder, looking remarkably smug.

Vincent drooped in the Bewear's arms. "Right, Dad."

Finnegan Prince shook his head. "Honestly, aren't you getting a little old to be trying to murder Fulgur for waking you up?

Vincent glared at the rodent. "No. No, I don't think I am."

"Fair enough. That reminds me, your friends were getting together at Hop's house. Apparently Leon's back, and he brought some gifts-

Vincent was gone in an instant. Finn shook his head. "Always in a rush, that lad. Ah well, I'm one to talk. I remember when I-"

Lightning flashed, and a scorched Finn glared Honedges at Fulgur. "You're lucky I don't want to go to the effort of catching another Gigantamaxing Pokemon..."

…

Vincent dashed in the door, panting. "Sorry I'm late!"

A girl with a long golden ponytail shook her head. "Honestly, Vincent! I'm never this late and I'm your twin sister!"

"Sorry."

Another boy, this one with a jet-black Caesar cut simply sighed. "Summer, it is highly illogical to ever expect Vincent to be on time for this sort of thing. Perhaps we should go outside?"

Hop stuck his head in the window, grinning like a maniac. "Oi! Get over here, you lot! Lee's brought presents!"

…

They went outside only to notice Hop standing there with Emily, another one of their friends- well, okay, Hop was more a neighbour than a friend, but... meh. Em grinned wickedly. "Yo, Alex! How's that logic working out for you today?"

"Well, given that I was able to accurately predict Vincent's lateness..."

"Dude, that's a regular occurrence. You don't get credit for that."

There was a loud roar, and the kid's heads promptly spun around to the fine specimen of Charizard standing in the lawn. Five other Pokemon stood around the tall man in front of the pseudodragon- Doublade, Drakloak, Haxorus, Mr. Rime, and Rhydon.

Champion Leon grinned and struck his signature Charizard pose. "Hey, kids! Who's ready to have a champion time?!"

Hop whooped gleefully, while the other four stared blandly at him. The boy with the Caesar cut adjusted his glasses. "It is truly wonderful to see the professionalism displayed by our esteemed Champion. You really are Hop's brother, aren't you?"

Leon laughed in a way that made him seem about ten years younger. "Man, tough crowd! You lot must be the new neighbours then, yeah? Lemme see... oh yeah!"

He pointed at each of them in turn. "Vince, Summer, Alex, and… Em, right? Hop's written a lot about you guys in his letters!"

Vincent grinned. "We're flattered. Now, Hop mentioned presents?"

Alex pushed up his glasses again. "Vincent, your immaturity is showing."

"Alex, your condescendingness is showing."

Summer twitched as she twirled her ponytail around her finger. "Never... repeat such awful grammar again."

"I make no promises!"

Emily glared. "Alright, enough of that. Hand over the goods, old man!"

Leon laughed and extracted five Poke Balls from the inside of his cape. "Alright guys, c'mon out!"

Flashes of light sprang into existence, the five teenagers present covering their eyes, before five Pokemon materialized.

A Scorbunny promptly began dashing across the yard, laughing with glee. A Sobble made straight for the little pond over by the fence and splashed into it, spraying a stream of water into the air. A Grookey and a Rookiedee practically teleported to the top of the Berry Tree that Hop's mother had planted... last year- Berries grew remarkably fast- and a small Hatenna simply waddled over to the side and observed the humans standing around it.

Leon's smile reached new heights of excitement. "Seeing as you lot are old enough by now, I figured you might want your own Pokemon partners!"

Alex raised his hand.

"Don't worry, I asked your parents first,"

Alex lowered his hand and removed his phone from his pocket. "Good thing I have this then."

Vincent blinked. "Wait, why do you-"

"I downloaded the Pokédex app last week."

"Fair enough. Continue, Mr. Nocturne."

"Why thank you, Mr. Prince. Excuse me, Hatenna! Could you come here for a moment?"

The little Psychic-Type agreeably waddled over, stopping at Summer's feet and releasing a cute trilling noise as Alex scanned it.

**"****Hatenna, the Calm Pokemon. Psychic-Type. Via the protrusion on its head, it senses the emotions of others. If you don't have a calm disposition, it will never warm up to you. This specimen is female, Level 6, possesses the Ability Anticipation, and knows the moves Confusion, Play Nice, and Life Dew."**

Summer leaned down and poked Hatenna on the forehead. Hatenna blinked once, then giggled delightedly, before glowing with blue light and floating into Summer's arms. The girl blinked. "So... I take it you like me, then?"

"Ten-na!"

Summer stared for a few seconds. "I call dibs. Leon, this one's mine!"

The Champion laughed. "Yeah, I saw that coming. She's a pretty quiet one, so I thought she might go for someone less... loud. Are you going to give her a name?"

Summer looked down at the Pokemon now snuggled comfortably in her arms. "...I'll give it some thought. I don't want her stuck answering to something stupid like Ernie does."

Leon raised an eyebrow.

"Ernie is my Dad's Gothitelle."

Alex, in the meantime, had moved on to the Sobble. "Hello. Would you mind if..."

Sobble popped out of the water, and the Pokédex went to work.

**"****Sobble, the Water Lizard Pokemon. Water-Type. When scared, this Pokemon cries. Its tears pack the chemical punch of 100 onions, and attackers won't be able to resist weeping. This specimen is female, Level 6, possesses the Ability Sniper, and knows the moves Pound, Growl, and Water Gun."**

Alex frowned. "Sniper... that increases the power of critical hits, which could have strategic usage, but on the other had, I don't like to rely on luck..." He tapped a few buttons, trying to find more information, then looked up to see Sobble's eyes watering.

He looked back at the Pokédex for a brief moment, then sighed and picked up the water lizard. "Well, I suppose we can make something work out."

Sobble let out a cheer, but Alex poked her on the nose. "But we will not be relying on Sniper. It is not logical."

Vincent shook his head and snatched Alex's phone. Ignoring the cry of protest, he promptly scanned the Grookey.

**"****Grookey, the Chimp Pokemon. Grass-Type. It attacks with rapid strikes of its stick. As it strikes with amazing speed, it gets more and more pumped up. This specimen is male, Level 6, has the Ability Grassy Surge, and knows the moves Scratch, Growl, and Branch Poke."**

Vincent blinked a few times, then shook his head. "Not really my style. Yo, Scorbunny! You wanna come with?"

The rabbit cheered and ran over, flames scorching the ground before it slid to a stop, allowing Vincent to scan it.

**"****Scorbunny, the Rabbit Pokemon. Fire-Type. It has special pads on the backs of its feet and one on its nose. Once it's raring to fight, these pads generate tremendous heat. This specimen is male, Level 6, has the Ability Libero, and knows the moves Tackle, Growl, and Ember."**

"Dibs! He's mine now! None of you can-"

A stick smacked him over the head, Emily grinning wildly. "Oh, we're going to be good friends, Kong."

Her new Grookey chirped agreeably.

Vincent scowled. "Alright, next order of business... does everyone have a name yet?"

Alex's Sobble clambered up to his shoulder and perched herself there. "I've decided on Unda. She answers to it, so it is at least practical."

Summer hugged Hatenna tighter. "We settled on Andromeda."

Vincent shrugged. "Alrighty, then. Hey, little guy. What d'you think of Hephaestus?"

The newly-christened Hephaestus shot him a thumbs up.

"Hey!"

All four of them spun around to see Hop's Rookiedee perched on his Wooloo's back, the boy's excited grin sending chills down their backs. "Now that we all have Pokemon... why don't we have a battle?"

The chill faded. Vincent stepped forwards with a smirk. "I volunteer. 'Phaestus, you up for it?"

The Scorbunny saluted and sprang forwards.

Hop grinned wickedly. "Alright, Wooloo, you're up!"

The sheep Pokemon bleated obediently and stepped onto the battlefield.

"Hephaestus, take 'em down!"

_"__You got it, Boss!"_

Vincent abruptly froze.

"_Hey, what's wrong?"_

The boy stared at the Scorbunny in complete shock. "Did I just understand you?"

**…**

**Okay, this chapter probably seems a bit rushed, but I'm awful at prologues, so bear with me. It'll get better next chapter. I'm also posting a list of the kid's teams here. Until next time, stay tuned!**

Vincent's Party

Hephaestus (Scorbunny, male) (Tackle, Growl, Ember) Ability: Libero

Emily's Party

Kong (Grookey, male) (Scratch, Growl, Branch Poke) Ability: Grassy Surge

Alex's Party

Unda (Sobble, female) (Pound, Growl, Water Gun) Ability: Sniper

Summer's Party

Andromeda (Hatenna, female) (Confusion, Life Dew, Play Nice) Ability: Anticipation


	2. Alex Drowns A Bird

**Chapter 2, for those who are reading. Let's see what happens with Vincent's newly discovered talents, shall we?**

**…**

Vincent idly kicked at a stone as he walked back to his house, his hands in his pockets. He'd elected to cut the battle short so that he could figure out exactly what was happening to him- unfortunately for Hop, Emily had taken over. Hephaestus was quiet behind him, having evidently discovered that Vincent wasn't exactly comfortable with understanding him yet.

He opened the door, the Stonjouner on the lawn blinking sleepily at him, before his father greeted him. "Vincent, you're home early. I hadn't expected you back for a long time! Then again, I suppose you have to pack before you leave..."

Vincent debated how to ask the burning question on his mind, and decided to use the blunt method. "I can talk to Pokemon. Explain."

Finn blinked. "In all honesty, I hadn't expected that. It's actually a relatively short tale to inflict on you. Remember when you were in the hospital a few years ago?"

Vincent grimaced. "Yeah. Wasn't that when I fell in the river and almost drowned and still almost bled out because I hit that really sharp rock before Renegade could get me out?"

The Golisopod grunted from where she was watching the television. "_You almost gave me a heart attack. I'm so gonna look forwards to using your PlayStation when you're gone._"

Finn winced. "Yeah... that was a rough day. Anyways, long story short, you were too injured for modern medicine to do anything, so... you had to receive an injection of Ditto cells. It completely healed the damage, but we were warned there might be... aftereffects. Haven't you ever noticed that you had more stamina than everyone else on your old school running team?"

Vincent stared. "So... I have superhuman capabilities?"

"Nothing that extreme. The cells restored your lungs and muscles to prime condition, and they've probably been keeping them that way ever since. That also explains why you can understand Pokemon- the cells probably saw your inability to do so as something that they needed to correct."

Vincent blinked, then sighed in relief. "Well, at least there's an actual explanation. Doesn't explain why I couldn't do it before, but whatever works. Thanks, Dad."

"No problem kiddo. Now, why don't you go meet up with your friends?"

Vincent saluted. "Sir, yes sir!"

He made to exit the house, and was immediately halted by the tremendous stone foot of his father's Stonjouner. "Apex? What's up?"

Apex's voice, now audible to him, was like the grumbling shake of the earth. "_If you do understand me, young master, then come with me. I have knowledge to bestow upon you."_

Vincent stared, then shrugged. "Eh, why not?"

He followed the Rock-Type away into the Berry orchard just off to the side of the house.

…

They stopped in a clearing just a few feet into the orchard, and Hephaestus immediately fell on the ground and began moaning. "_My feeeet!_"

Vincent sighed. "Just... rest for now, okay?" He turned back to face Apex. "Alright, teach, what's today's lesson?"

Apex began his rumbling lecture. "_Though I am young for my kind, I know a great many things-_"

Vincent cut him off. "Wait, how old _are _you exactly?"

"_Approximately 800 summers have passed since my birth."_

Vincent spluttered. "Eight-eight hundred years?!"

"_My species normally reach their quadmillenial birthday. I am, for all intents and purposes, young."_

"...Apex, you've been missing out on some serious senior-citizen discounts."

_"__You amuse me, Vincent. Now, let us begin the lecture. I wished to explain to you the dangers of encountering large groups of Pokemon in the wild. Most Trainers are forced to fight their way out, but since you speak our tongue, you may be able to... parlay, I suppose. What you should know is how to distinguish and address the leader- are you writing this down?"_

Vincent spun a pen idly between his fingers as he examined the page of a spiral notebook he'd just produced from the pockets of his jacket. "Duh. You were saying?"

_"__Anyways, the leader will always be fully evolved, and likely also the strongest in the group._ _They will be addressed differently depending on the species of Pokemon the group consists of. For instance, most will be referred to as Patriarch or Matriarch, such as the Dubwool that leads our Wooloo flock. He is responsible for the protection of the flock, and has established Dominance over them, thus making him the Patriarch."_

"Okay... what does it mean to establish dominance, though?"

_"__Dominance with a capital D, young Vincent. It is a term used to refer to a leader's command over their group. For instance, I was once one of the members of a group of Stonjouner. The leader for most Rock and Steel Pokemon would be referred to as 'Ancient', for reference. The Ancient of our group possessed Dominance, which allowed him authority over us. When he commanded us, we obeyed. A wise leader uses Dominance for the correct purposes, such as coordinating defense of their group, lest the wrath of the Legendaries strike them."_

"Got that down. Explain that bit to me, will you?"

_"__When a leader uses Dominance for corrupt purposes, like complete control over their group, often a member of the group who is powerful enough to defeat them will be released from their authority, allowing them to become the new leader by establishing Dominance over the old. Most Pokemon Trainers who are sufficiently powerful establish Dominance over their team, which is why captured Pokemon are so willing to obey so readily."_

"So... does Dad have Dominance over Renegade?"

Apex smirked and winked. "_No. But I don't think he needs to know that, does he?"_

On the ground, Hephaestus snickered, as did Vincent. "No, I don't think so. Now, what exactly are the classifications for leaders?"

Vincent walked out of the clearing with Hephaestus a little while later, with new confidence and a spiral notebook filled with Apex's knowledge.

…

Summer, bless her soul, had packed for him. She grinned. "Figured you'd be busy getting your lesson from Apex, so I grabbed your stuff." She nodded to the dark blue backpack sitting in front of her. "Dad called in a few favours and got us some new bags. They've got hammerspace tech, so they should fit everything."

Vincent stared dubiously at the bag, then seized the old metal pole he'd used to keep his curtains up (which was easily twice his height) and stuck it into the bag, where it plunged all the way in before he slowly pulled it back out. "Oh yeah, this'll do nicely."

Summer whistled, and Andromeda floated down from the top bunk of Vincent's bed- he'd shared his room with a lot of stuffed animals when he was younger- and landed in her arms with a smile. Vincent laughed. "I see Andromeda already likes you."

The Hatenna giggled. "_I do! She's so bright!"_

Summer raised an eyebrow, and Vincent translated, with the growing feeling that his new abilities would be high in demand among his friends very soon.

…

Emily waved them over when they got outside. "Guys! I beat Hop!"

Vincent snickered. "You say that like we should be surprised."

"Fair. Oh yeah, Alex was going to show us how to catch Pokemon!"

Summer turned to the boy, raising her eyebrow again. "You know how to catch Pokemon?"

Alex simply smiled. "I am the child of a powerful Pokemon Trainer, and I have one of the best memories of anyone our age. Draw your own conclusions."

Vincent laughed. "Alright, fair enough. Show us what you got, Mr. Pokemon Master!"

Alex sighed. "I'd prefer it if you didn't call me by the most prestigious title in our society, which I am unlikely to obtain at any point."

"Dude. Stop underestimating yourself. And seriously, show us how to catch Pokemon."

The taller boy nodded and marched for the entrance to town... and was promptly divebombed by a little blue bird the moment he took a single step onto Route 1.

He sprang back with a grimace as the bird began shrieking at them. Vincent winced.

Summer looked at him. "Translate?"

"I am not repeating that!"

Alex shrugged and removed a Poke Ball from his belt. "Regardless, it's a Pokemon. I suppose it will make a good example... Unda, battle position!"

The Poke Ball opened, and Unda sprang out with a loud cry, glaring across the battlefield at the insolent Pokemon. Alex, meanwhile, took out his Pokédex to scan it.

**"****Rookiedee, the Tiny Bird Pokemon. Flying-Type. Jumping nimbly about, this small-bodied Pokemon takes advantage of even the slightest opportunities to disorient larger opponents. This specimen is female, Level 4, has the Ability Keen Eye, and knows the moves Peck, Leer, and Power Trip."**

Alex examined the little Pokemon for a brief moment, then shrugged. "I suppose using a Flying-Type could be useful. Unda, we're going to capture this one!"

The Sobble let out an affirmative trill, and thus the battle began. Rookiedee swooped almost instantly into action, beak glowing with a Peck attack-

"Unda, Water Gun!"

Unda swallowed back a gob of saliva, ensuring that she wouldn't be spitting up anything she didn't want to, then spewed. Rookiedee spluttered as she was struck full in the face by a merciless gusher of water- nothing with proper force behind it, but still enough to be startling.

It helped that the little sadist had made the water really freaking cold.

Rookiedee screeched even more profanity that Vincent discovered he could- unfortunately- translate. "This bird's expanding my vocabulary a mile a minute! Alex, please shut it up!"

Alex rolled his eyes. "Patience, my apprentice. Unda, use Pound."

The Sobble gleefully went on the offensive, her hand glowing white as power flowed into it, before slamming it into Rookiedee's face. And then her other one. And again. And again, all the while shrieking. Vincent, understanding what she was saying, promptly began giggling. Summer, well aware that her brother did not _giggle_, raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, I wish you could hear this, sis, because it's hilarious."

Alex coughed into his fist. "If you're quite finished?"

The twins turned their attention back to him as he held up an empty Poke Ball. "Now, the most important aspect of catching a Pokemon is the Poke Ball. Some of them have been specialized to work better under specific circumstances, but I'll be using a standard one for this. But a Pokemon can break out of them, so the Pokemon either has to be willing to join you, or you have to weaken it."

Vincent raised an eyebrow. "I think you've gone past weakening it."

Alex turned around to see Unda still whaling on the now unconscious Rookiedee. "Unda! Stop! She's already dead!"

The Sobble immediately slid off, smirking triumphantly. Rookiedee let out a moan. "Dee..."

Summer didn't even get to ask before Vincent translated. "She said, 'everything hurts'."

Alex simply sighed. "I... suppose we'll have to work on that. Now then, once the Pokemon is weakened, all you have to do is throw the Poke Ball at it. Like so."

He chucked the sphere, and it struck Rookiedee in the face, before absorbing her in a net of red light. It fell to the ground and began to shake as Alex bit his lip in worry.

Once...

Twice...

Three times...

Click.

Alex's eyes widened, and completely forgetting all sense of decorum, he let out a whoop of glee. Then he blushed in embarrassment and composed himself. "And... that, uh, concludes the presentation. And I also now have a Rookiedee."

Vincent grinned and slugged him on the shoulder. "Nice, Alex! Hey, what're you gonna call her?"

Alex picked up the Poke Ball for the ground and had a moment of concern for the fact that his newest Pokemon was pretty much a giant bruise by now. Then he shook it off. Modern medicine could handle a punctured lung within five seconds. Some bruising was nothing to worry about.

"Eques," He decided at length. "Her name is Eques."

**…**

**And... that happened! Rest assured, Vincent won't be developing any superpowers any time soon. Well... probably an advanced healing rate, but nothing on Deadpool's level. Also, Eques! I just got Pokemon Shield yesterday so I'm playing through it with Alex's team (and Emily's, if I have the time) to make sure it's possible... without being grossly overleveled. Spamming the EXP candies before my Champion battle in Sword was definitely a good idea.**

Vincent's Party

Hephaestus (Scorbunny, male) (Tackle, Growl, Ember) Ability: Libero

Emily's Party

Kong (Grookey, male) (Scratch, Growl, Branch Poke) Ability: Grassy Surge

Alex's Party

Unda (Sobble, female) (Pound, Growl, Water Gun) Ability: Sniper

Eques (Rookiedee, female) (Peck, Leer, Power Trip) Ability: Big Pecks

Summer's Party

Andromeda (Hatenna, female) (Confusion, Life Dew, Play Nice) Ability: Anticipation

**Next chapter: Route 1! Plus, Carina! Points to anyone who can guess who catches her. I'll give you a hint: it's based off her nickname.**


	3. Summer Becomes A Bug Catcher

**Moving right along, we have chapter 3.**

**Oh, shoot, almost forgot!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. If I owned Pokemon, I would be far too busy managing a company to write this fanfic.**

**…**

Alex released Eques from her Poke Ball. The Rookiedee made an attempt to screech what was, according to Vincent, likely something extremely profane, then collapsed from the pain of her injuries.

Alex shook his head, then kneeled down with a Potion bottle in his hand. "If you are willing to hold still for a moment, this will heal your injuries."

Eques blinked a few times, then agreeably settled down and allowed Alex to spray her.

"By the way, it will sting."

Alex should not have taken as much delight as he did in the Rookiedee's screech of pain. Emily was really rubbing off on him.

Vincent groaned. "Alex, you need to do something about the mouth on that thing."

"Yes, I should, if it's as bad as you say. Could you help me negotiate?"

Vincent grumbled something about charging people for favours, then walked over to begin translating.

Summer snickered, then looked pensively at a patch of tall grass. "Hey, Andromeda, you think we should try to get something here?"

"Ten-na?"

"I mean, I'm not expecting to catch a Nickit or something, but there's lots of options. Skwovet, Wooloo..."

The grass rustled, and a tiny blue head poked out. "Blip!"

Summer blinked, then smiled. "Oh, hey! Don't mind us, we were just discussing catching a new Pokémon."

"Bug! Blip!"

"Yeah, it's not exactly easy making a decision."

"Bug! Bu-bug!"

"Ten!"

Emily caught sight of the interaction and promptly turned around to yell for the boys. "Guys?"

"Hey, do you wanna come with me?"

"Blip?"

"Uh, guys?"

"It'll be fun!"

"Ha-ten!"

"Blip!"

"GUYS!"

Alex and Vincent looked over. "What?!"

Emily pointed, and they were just in time to see Blipbug disappear into Summer's Poke Ball.

Vincent stared. "...did that just happen?"

Summer smirked smugly. "That makes Summer 2, Vincent 1. I think I'll call her Carina."

"...I'll get one on the next route."

Then his phone buzzed. He promptly pulled it out. "Oh, it's from Dad. 'Professor Magnolia wanted to talk to you. Please visit her at her house. Also, check the news. Love, Dad'. Huh. Sounds important."

Emily pulled out her phone, then grinned. "Sweet! If we go from here, it'll only take us a day or so to get there!"

Alex coughed delicately. "Yes, about that."

He pointed towards the flock of Wooloo now forming a wall on the well-beaten path: woolly bodies, packed strong as titanium.

There was the sound of flesh on flesh as Summer facepalmed.

Vincent, meanwhile, was examining the latter half of his father's message. "Wonder what he sent that for..."

Summer grabbed his arm. "No time! We've gotta at least get somewhere to pitch the tent."

"We have a tent?"

"And ingredients for Curry. I planned ahead."

…

They walked the rest of the day. Normally, it would only take an hour to reach Wedgehurst, but with the easy path cut off, they now had to take the long route- a much longer path that would require them to stop and make camp for the night.

Luckily, they were close enough to Wedgehurst that they could pick up free cellular service. They could use it in places like the Routes, but it was... bankruptingly expensive for kids not taking the Gym Challenge. For those kids... they were lucky Chairman Rose was rich.

Vincent was tapping at the news app when Emily came over to the other side of the tent- on the outside, no larger than a Copperajah, but it was astonishing what hammerspace technology could accomplish. There were two bunk beds, a curtain running down the middle to separate the boy's side from the girl's side, and a bathroom. The tent probably cost a fortune.

Good thing Vincent's dad had favours to call in.

She clambered up to Vincent's bunk and rested her head on the railing, feet still on the ladder, so she could see his screen. "What'cha looking at?"

"Dad did say to look at the news... so it's probably- oh, got it!"

Emily read the article. "'New challenger faces Champion in exhibition match'. Yeah, that sounds like something you'd be interested in."

Vincent shrugged. "I'll look at it later. Right now, I'm interested in that Blipbug."

He selected a different app, revealing the Pokedex, and promptly scanned the little Bug-Type.

**"Blipbug, the Larva Pokémon. Bug-Type. A constant collector of information, this Pokémon is very smart. Very strong is what it isn't. This specimen is female, Level 3, has the Ability Swarm, and knows the move Struggle Bug. This Pokémon possesses an Mega Gene."**

Vincent frowned. "Huh. Not as powerful as I expected. I'm honestly a little disappointed. And I'm also gonna have to ask Alex what a Mega Gene is."

Emily shrugged. "Not all Pokémon can be really powerful. Who knows? Maybe she'll evolve into something more powerful. Check her evos."

Vincent agreeably did so and whistled. "Bug/Psychic? Not bad. Plus some pretty good moves. Hey, next form gets some good defenses. Summer! Come have a look at this!"

She walked over, and they spend the rest of the evening discussing just how much potential Carina had. The Blipbug was suitably excited upon seeing her evolved forms. "_Ooh! Summer, you gotta make me an Orbeetle!"_

Summer laughed. "Believe me, Carina, it'll be my pleasure!"

…

Leon blew out a breath and grinned. He had another televised match, and it would definitely be a good one. He'd faced her before, and she was pretty powerful. Plus this would give him a chance to train one of his newer team members- Rhyperior, Aegislash, and Dragapult were coming along nicely.

The sixteen-year-old in question was smirking at him, standing beside her signature Inteleon. "Hey, Champion! You ready to lose?"

Leon laughed. "Not planning on it! You'd better believe I'm gonna have a champion time! Bring it, Liz! Seismitoad, you're up!"

Liz smirked right back. "Gossy, engage!"

**…**

**Liz's team is credited to ReptileGirl497. Also, just to be clear, whenever there's a Pokémon speaking in italics, it's Vincent translating them. I do not want to write, "spoke with Vincent translating" whenever such a thing occurs. Anything underlined like this is going to be telepathy.**

Vincent's Party

Hephaestus (Scorbunny, male) (Tackle, Growl, Ember) Ability: Libero

Emily's Party

Kong (Grookey, male) (Scratch, Growl, Branch Poke) Ability: Grassy Surge

Alex's Party

Unda (Sobble, female) (Pound, Growl, Water Gun) Ability: Sniper

Eques (Rookiedee, female) (Peck, Leer, Power Trip) Ability: Big Pecks

Summer's Party

Andromeda (Hatenna, female) (Confusion, Life Dew, Play Nice) Ability: Anticipation

Carina (Blipbug, female) (Struggle Bug) Ability: Swarm


	4. Vincent Watches A Video

**I'd just like to thank ReptileGirl497 again for their assistance in the creation of Liz. She'll be making several further appearances.**

**…**

The tent was pretty much silent, save for Kong snoring like a chainsaw. Vincent was the only one still awake, studying the screen of his phone. The video his father had wanted him to watch was still pulled up. His finger hovered briefly over the unpause button. "Hmm..."

Then he shrugged and reached down to his bag, snatching up a pair of earbuds and plugging them in. No reason to wake up his friends, after all. Hephaestus, snuggling into his chest and acting very much like a heater, blinked awake. "_Mrrph... Boss? What's up?_"

Vincent offered him an earbud. "C'mon, little guy. We're watching this."

Hephaestus promptly sat up and began watching the video with rapt attention. Vincent snickered, then allowed the video to start playing.

…

Liz made the first move, thrusting out her hand for dramatic effect. "Gossy, start off with Razor Leaf!"

The Eldegoss let out a trill of agreement and launched into a spin, allowing several seeds to spill off from her massive cotton puff... and instantly mature into glowing green, razor-sharp leaves, before with a single thought from her, they shot forward. Leon laughed. "You'll have to try harder than that! Seismitoad, counter with Mud Shot!"

Seismitoad's cheeks bulged, and he shot a volley of mud balls, blasting the leaves and-

"Gossy, Hyper Voice!"

Gossy smirked with wicked glee, then opened her mouth and screamed. A sonic distortion made the air ripple as Seismitoad roared in agony, stumbling backwards in an attempt to get away from the horrible noise.

Leon was stuck covering his own ears, but was able to pull out a Poke Ball. "Seismitoad, return! Go, Mr. Rime!"

Mr. Rime sprang onto the battlefield and launched an Ice Beam straight at Gossy, freezing her mouth completely shut.

"Gossy! Quick, Leaf Tornado!"

Gossy could still see perfectly, enabling a quick summon of the leaf-wind funnel attack, hurling it forwards. "Nope! Mr. Rime, Blizzard Cocoon!"

Liz's eyes widened. "Pardonne moi, but what the *bleep*?"

Mr. Rime's eyes glowed with Psychic power, before he spiralled a Blizzard attack out of his cane, bending the attack to swirl around him as a protective shell. The Leaf Tornado met the defensive attack and froze solid.

Liz grimaced once, then smirked. "Combo moves! Not bad! Gossy, return! Mohawk, you're up!"

The Eldegoss was withdrawn, and next onto the field was a smirking Toxtricity, his yellow belly lit up by the electricity-generating organs it supported. "Mohawk! Boomburst!"

Leon groaned and covered his ears. "Oh, not again!"

Mohawk smirked and moved his hands so that it looked like he was holding a guitar. Mr. Rime stared, completely confused, and then a hand came down on the strings of the air guitar.

Gossy had been loud. The Boomburst was beyond that, literally shaking the entire arena as the horribly loud noise ripped through the air. Leon's Pokemon collapsed, shuddering in absolute agony. Liz cackled, though no one could hear it over the clamour. "Man, the kid is really rubbing off on you!"

Mohawk was laughing his head off as the noise continued, before finally having mercy and stopping it... primarily because he needed to draw breath, but semantics. Mr. Rime struggled to his feet, and if it wasn't for his cane, his legs would have been too shaky for him to stand. Leon groaned. "Augh! Where the heck did you learn that?!"

Liz smirked, crossing her arms. "Found a new travelling companion. He took last year's Gym Challenge and he's doing it again. He's also a master of causing havoc with sound attacks."

Then she shuddered. "That Noivern... I pity whoever has to face that monster."

Leon grimaced. "Mr. Rime, switch out! Rhyperior, you're up!"

The massive stone rhino took his place on the field, and everyone who had heard this was a three-on-three match immediately groaned upon realizing Charizard would not be making an appearance. Liz promptly switched as well. "Gossy, back in!"

Gossy reappeared, glaring at Rhyperior. "You've used a combo move, so take one of ours! Gossy, Razor Leaf Tornado!"

Gossy gleefully obeyed, conjuring a new Leaf Tornado that actually glowed, before sending it forwards. Leon smirked. "Nice try! Rhyperior, Stone Edge defense!"

Rhyperior stomped once, and a blade of stone erupted from the earth in front of him, perfectly able to stop Gossy's assault-

The leaves tore into the rock, chopping it up like it was in a food processor. Rhyperior roared in immediate panic, stomping on the ground again, hurling Stone Edges against the attack, but no dice.

Well, actually, dice. The stones were diced.

Rhyperior roared as the storm was upon him, slashing gouges into his rocky armor, the Grass-Typing making him even more vulnerable to the assault.

Liz was all too happy to press her advantage. "Now, Gossy, Hyper Voice!"

Leon was just about ready to tear his hair out upon receiving yet another sonic assault. The only consolation was that unless a Pokémon had Soundproof, they risked deafening themselves with such a cacophony.

Gossy, fortunately for the audience, had Cotton Down as her ability, so the sound stopped after a few agonizing seconds. Liz was cackling again. "Don't worry, Leon, you get used to it eventually! Gossy, let's have an encore-"

"Rhyperior, Megahorn!"

Rhyperior, officially seeing red, charged, his horn now glowing bright green, piercing through Gossy's plant-material body before the Eldegoss could blink, before backing off, satisfied.

Gossy briefly looked up at the hole now in the cotton puff on her head, then rolled her eyes and began to glow. Liz laughed. "Leon, please. She knows Synthesis! Plus those are just seeds! Impaling her puff isn't going to do any-"

"Rhyperior, Earthquake!"

Rhyperior needed only stomp to trigger a seismic cataclysm, shaking the earth and knocking Gossy off-balance before she could finish using Synthesis. Then Leon thrusted his hand straight up. "Rhyperior, finish it! Flamequake!"

Rhyperior roared and glowed with light before springing into the air, a sphere of flame now surrounding his form. Liz stared up at the Heat Crash attack with a growing sense of impending doom. "Seedots."

Rhyperior slammed back into the earth, loosing another wave of seismic force combined with the heat of the Fire-Type move, resulting in the ground being torn up by a massive fiery explosion, propelled by the massive force of Rhyperior's weight.

Liz covered her eyes from the blaze of light now in existence. When she uncovered them, the battlefield was a wasteland of torn stone and earthen plates, all very much scorched. Rhyperior was getting unsteadily to his feet, while on Liz's side of the field lay a heavily scorched, very unconscious Eldegoss.

Liz sighed. "You did good, Gossy. Return. Alright... Mohawk won't stand a chance... guess it's time then."

She pulled a scratched, worn Poke Ball from her belt and held it up. "Alright, partner, it's time to shine! Crackers, you know the drill!"

In a flash of light, an Inteleon sprang onto the field, a coy smirk stretched out on his face. Leon grinned. "Alright, let's see what you can do! Rhyperior, Stone-"

"Sucker Punch!"

Crackers was fast. Springing nimbly across the ruined battlefield, and landing a solid uppercut to Rhyperior's jaw, forcing the tremendous rock monster to actually stumble back a few steps. "Now, Breaking Swipe!"

This time, Crackers' tail glowed with a miasma of draconic energy before he smashed it straight into Rhyperior's chest, forcing him back even further, before a bluish aura cascaded down his body. Leon grimaced. "Great, an attack drop. Megahorn!"

"Sucker Punch, once more! Then get some distance and hit it with a Snipe Shot!"

Crackers sprang forwards again, this time leaping over Rhyperior's head in a remarkable show of agility, and delivering a solid hit to the back of his head, before darting away and aiming his hand. Snipe Shot was a relatively simple move- the Inteleon using it would secrete special water droplets from their hands, then fire them at high speeds, allowing them to grow in size by absorbing moisture in the air.

Crackers' attack was slower than most, but that didn't make it any weaker.

Rhyperior let out a roar as the blast of water slammed solidly into a crack along the back of his armor, left by the earlier Razor Leaf Tornado. Leon grimaced. "Alright, Rhyperior, Earthquake!"

Rhyperior raised his foot again-

"Crackers, Scattershot!"

Crackers gleefully lit up his tail with Breaking Swipe again,then held up his hands, his fingers glimmering with... water...

Leon had enough time to gulp before the droplets that became Snipe Shot fell towards the ground... and Crackers slammed his tail into them, striking about seven of them, and launching them forwards at twice the speed as usual. Which cut the power in half, but the potential to get multiple shots off easily made up for that.

Leon goggled at the attack. "Liz, what the heck?! Rhyperior, Stone Edge!"

Blades of rock erupted into existence, taking out two of the blasts that would have hit Rhyperior. Two others missed entirely, since Scattershot didn't exactly allow for accuracy.

The last three, though...

Rhyperior let out a roar of agony as the water blasts smashed into him with tremendous speed, barely scratching his armor, but delivering sufficient force to give him some bruises he would definitely be feeling in the morning.

Liz snapped her fingers. "Finish it! Liquidation!"

Crackers slammed his fists together, and water erupted into existence, swirling around his arms as he lunged. Rhyperior snarled and charged with Megahorn.

The two attacks met, and Crackers was almost instantly pushed back a few centimetres, Rhyperior's sheer physical power pushing him back. Leon laughed confidently. "Hah! You're not bad, but at the end of the day, you're just not-"

Liz interrupted. "Leon... what is Crackers currently attacking Rhyperior with?"

"His fist."

"And what does Crackers have two of?"

"Fists- oh, crap! Rhyperior, back off, quick-"

Crackers lashed out with another uppercut to Rhyperior's chin, forcing the rock monster's head up, and allowing Crackers' attack to smash solidly into Rhyperior's mouth.

Teeth and blood spattered the ground, and with a groan, Rhyperior collapsed.

Leon gaped. "Um... wow. That was violent. Rhyperior, return. Seismitoad, go-"

…

Vincent blinked at the screen. "I'm sorry, what?"

The 'empty battery' symbol blinked on the upper right corner of the screen. "Wait seriously? Dang it."

Hephaestus blinked. "_You good, boss-man?_"

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking."

"_About what?_"

"That Trainer- Liz, her name was? She was really powerful, to fight the Champion like that..."

Vincent threw his covers aside. "Hephaestus, you wanna do a bit of training?"

The Scorbunny grinned. "_Sounds like fun! Let's go kill some trees!_"

Vincent grinned and slid off his bunk, grabbing his windbreaker and sliding it on. "We've gotta try to get to that level of power. We'll become the strongest in Galar, and no one's gonna stop us!"

…

Mohawk, mind completely burned out from a Psychic assault, collapsed on the battlefield in front of Mr. Rime. The judge threw his flags up. "Toxtricity is unable to battle! Mr. Rime wins, and therefore, the winner is Champion Leon!"

The crowd exploded into cheers. Liz returned Mohawk, smiling. "You did your best, Mohawk. You've earned some downtime."

Leon held out his hand. "Nice battle. You fought really well."

Liz extended her own hand and shook it. "My team fought well. All I did was give orders. No surprise we couldn't beat you, though."

A younger looking boy- thirteen, maybe fourteen? ran up with a grin. "Liz! That was awesome!"

Leon raised an eyebrow. Liz smirked. "The travelling companion I mentioned earlier. The one who likes deafening people?"

"You taught her that?!"

The boy's grin turned downright demonic. "The name's Will. It's a pleasure. And yeah, I taught her that strategy. Just be glad only Mohawk and Gossy can use it. I taught it to all five of my teammates, and I'm currently teaching it to Forte- he's my newest."

Leon took a moment to be properly horrified at this concept. "Well, I'd best be off. I've got a meeting with the chairman."

Liz smirked. "Use a map! You're crap with directions!"

"Who told you that?!"

Will held up his phone. "It's all over your brother's Y-Comm profile."

Leon facepalmed and walked away.

Liz snickered. "Ah, that was fun." Then her gaze turned more serious. "You find what you were looking for?"

Will sighed dejectedly. "Not a note. I don't even know what the darn thing looks like, so I couldn't find anything in the museum that might have helped."

Liz shrugged. "Eh, don't worry. It hasn't left Galar so far, so we'll probably find it in due time. We're due in Motostoke in a few weeks anyways, so I say we scope out the Glimwood Tangle. We can try Turffield after the ceremony."

Will nodded. "Sounds good. Shall we, then?"

A few moments later, two scaly shapes- one black and purple, the other a uniform orange- took to the sky, cutting through the clouds heading due southwest.

**…**

**And... that happened! More on Will and Liz later on...**

Vincent's Party

Hephaestus (Scorbunny, male) (Tackle, Growl, Ember) Ability: Libero

Emily's Party

Kong (Grookey, male) (Scratch, Growl, Branch Poke) Ability: Grassy Surge

Alex's Party

Unda (Sobble, female) (Pound, Growl, Water Gun) Ability: Sniper

Eques (Rookiedee, female) (Peck, Leer, Power Trip) Ability: Big Pecks

Summer's Party

Andromeda (Hatenna, female) (Confusion, Life Dew, Play Nice) Ability: Anticipation

Carina (Blipbug, female) (Struggle Bug) Ability: Swarm


	5. A Turtle is Fought in a Supermarket

**I'm terribly sorry it's taken this long, I decided to take a writing break for Christmas. I'll be back to a... somewhat normal updating schedule now. And with that addressed... back to your regularly scheduled fanfiction!**

**…**

Alex's eyes briefly flickered open as consciousness came to him in a split second. Then he noticed the repetitive noise of impacts just outside the tent. He grabbed his glasses, swearing under his breath. "Vincent, you bloody moron, I'm trying to sleep! Oh, screw it."

He exited the tent and noticed the large rock that Hephaestus was hurling himself against. Vincent grinned. "Hey, Alex! Alright, Hephaestus, let's try it again! Try channeling energy through your legs this time! Use Quick Attack!"

White light blazed around Hephaestus briefly, then he dashed straight at the rock, light trailing behind him, as he struck it solidly on the center of the cracks his failed attempts and Tackles had created, and with a cracking sound, shards of stone were sent flying. Vincent whooped and pumped his fist. "Yes! That's a Quick Attack for sure! Alex, what d'you think?l

Alex simply stared at his friend, who had somehow managed to help his Scorbunny learn an entirely new technique in... "How long have you been at this?"

"Two, maybe three hours?"

"Teach me your ways."

Vincent shrugged. "If you say so. Unda or Eques?"

"Unda, I think. Can you teach her a new move in the same amount of time?"

"I can give it a shot. What d'you have in mind?"

…

By the time the girls woke up, Vincent and Unda had been training for about two hours while Alex cooked breakfast. "Anyone for a nice sausage curry?"

Summer rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Yes, also what is Vincent doing?"

Alex shrugged. "He's had a decent amount of success teaching Hephaestus how to use Quick Attack-"

"It's not really teaching, it's more... telling them how it works and how they should try to make it work, then making revisions to their attempts to get better results."

With that said, he snapped his fingers, and Unda lashed out, wrapping her tail around Hephaestus and squeezing. The Scorbunny let out a choked wheeze, but shot her a thumbs up. "_Y-yep! T-that's a n-new move! Gack... c-can't breathe..._"

Unda grinned. "_I did it! I did it__!_"

Eques, sitting in a tree, let out a trill. "_Okay, yeah, not bad. Can I go next?_"

Vincent, as he was the only one who could understand her, shrugged. "It's up to Alex. Speaking of which, is the food done yet?"

Alex held up the ladle. "Yes, it's finished. You'd better eat. We're going to try to make it to Wedgehurst today."

Vincent grabbed a spoon. "Sounds good. Yo, Unda! Break time!"

The Sobble saluted merrily and scampered back over, followed by Hephaestus, still trying to regain his breath. "_I pity... whoever you... use that move on..._"

…

A few hours later, they were in Wedgehurst, and faced a surprise- none other than Champion Leon, standing there with his Charizard. "Well, if it isn't Hop's friends! Vincent, right?"

Vincent waved merrily. "Yo. So, what's the story behind the girl wiping the floor with you?"

"Actually, I won that, but it's wonderful to know you have faith in my capabilities."

Alex snorted. "Anyways, we were looking for the entrance to Route 2. You know where that is, ri-"

"Champion! Help!"

All four immediately stared at the woman running up to the Champion. "It's those blasted Pokémon again! They're eating all my produce! You have to do something about this!"

Leon nodded. "Right! Lead the way!"

The two dashed off again. Vincent turned back to his friends. "All in favour of following them?"

"Aye!" "Aye!" "Aye!"

Summer looked down at Andromeda, held safely in her arms. "You're the empath. Where'd they go?"

Andromeda stared quietly, then began to shudder. The protrusion on her head lifted up as psychic energy swirled around it, then bent to point due southeast. Then it adjusted, making minute changes as, presumably, Leon moved.

Summer grinned. "We've got our compass."

Emily gestured. "Well, let's get on with it, then! Lead the way!"

…

They saw the problem the moment they arrived at the Wedgehurst Supermarket- a Chewtle and a Munchlax were furiously attacking the meat aisle, tearing apart a deluxe Miltank steak, and definitely eyeing the Swinub pork.

Alex gaped. "Okay, this is an extensive problem."

Emily let out a shriek of rage. "The snack aisle! Look what they did to the crisps! I'LL TEAR THEM APART!"

Summer muttered something that sounded strangely like, "Well, at least we know she's the real deal."

Emily marched straight past Leon, who was probably assessing the situation. Leon raised an eyebrow. "What are you-"

"The Chewtle is mine." Her tone made it clear there would be no argument whatsoever if Leon valued anything he held dear.

The Poke Ball was in her grip in an instant. "Kong, walk all over it!"

The Grookey sprang to life, screeching excitedly and banging his stick on the ground.

Alex promptly took out his phone. "Alright, let's have a look at this bugger."

**"Chewtle. The Snapping Pokémon. Water-Type. It starts off battles with its rock-hard horn, but as soon as the opponent flinches, this Pokémon bites down and never lets go. This specimen is female, Level 4, has the Ability Strong Jaw, and knows the moves Tackle and Water Gun."**

Emily snapped her fingers. "Kong, listen up! I want that thing out of commission! Other than my commands, use any means you see fit that won't result in fatal damage!"

Kong screeched in agreement, pulling his stick out of his hair and banging it on the ground.

"Excellent. Branch Poke!"

Kong's stick lit up green, and he charged, stabbing straight towards Chewtle, who rather stupidly decided to meet him with a Tackle. The two collided, and Chewtle fell back with a warble of pain, a red spot throbbing on her forehead. Then she opened her mouth and fired Water Gun.

"Kong, dodge it! Then get 'er with Scratch!"

Kong nimbly sprang out of the way, landing on top of a shelf, before his claws lit up, enlongating as he slashed them across Chewtle's face. The snapping turtle fired a Water Gun, but Kong easily sprang around the attack, delivering another Branch Poke to the face.

Alex was staring from the side. "This seems... remarkably one-sided."

Vincent laughed. "Relax, Alex. She's just got Type advantage. She can't brute-force her way past every opponent."

Chewtle smashed into the wall next to the produce section. "I don't know, Vincent. It's beginning to look like it."

"Yeah, but the story won't be as good if she's OP."

Summer smacked him over the head. "Stop breaking the fourth wall!"

Chewtle scrambled back to her feet and spat another jet of water that Kong took this time, crashing to the ground. The turtle let out a triumphant grunt, advancing on her opponent to finish the job-

The Poke Ball shook once... twice... three times... click.

Emily picked it up with a smirk. "Yes! I caught a Chewtle!"

Leon picked up the Poke Ball now holding the Munchlax. "Hmmm... I think Hop'll like this one. His birthday's a month before the League... plenty of time to raise up a Snorlax!"

None of the teens were paying attention to him, instead preferring to examine Emily's new catch. "What'cha gonna name it, Em?"

Emily grinned as she examined the Poke Ball. "I think I'll call her Snapper."

**…**

Pokémon Teams

Vincent

Hephaestus (Scorbunny, male) (Tackle, Growl, Ember, Quick Attack) Ability: Libero

Emily

Kong (Grookey, male) (Scratch, Growl, Branch Poke) Ability: Grassy Surge

Snapper (Chewtle, female) (Tackle, Water Gun) Ability: Strong Jaw

Alex

Unda (Sobble, female) (Pound, Growl, Water Gun, Bind) Ability: Sniper

Eques (Rookiedee, female) (Peck, Leer, Power Trip) Ability: Big Pecks

Summer

Andromeda (Hattena, female) (Confusion, Life Dew, Play Nice) Ability: Anticipation

Carina (Blipbug, female) (Struggle Bug) Ability: Swarm


	6. A Fish is Removed From the Lake

The excitement of Emily's capture quickly faded, and the group was on the move again.

Well, when I say on the move...

Vincent laughed as the wild Yamper licked at his face. "I call dibs!"

Summer simply stared. "Vincent, that Pokémon ran at you, knocked you onto your arse, and is now apparently using Lick on you."

"Yamper can't learn Lick."

"Huh. Then what's it doing, Alex?"

"I believe it to be expressing a minor infatuation using the organ canines would normally use to display affection."

"...Galarian please, Einstein."

"It's licking him. Summer, it is a dog. What do you think it's doing?"

"Oh, yeah, no, I got that. I'm just curious as to why it's expressing affection towards Vincent of all people."

Vincent scowled. "May I remind you about the blackmail folder?"

Summer paled. "Shutting up now, please don't spill any beans!"

Emily snickered and rubbed her hands together. "How much will 1000 P buy me?"

"Et tu, Em?!"

"Hmm... baby photos, humiliating videos, and that one time she-"

"I'll take the baby photos!"

Summer moaned, Andromeda twitching as she read her Trainer's emotions. "What did I do to deserve this?"

Alex simply sighed. "Summer... just... go do something. They'll probably calm down by the time you get back."

"You wanna come with?"

"Please."

…

They walked a good distance away from their idiotic friends and ended up beside a lake. Summer sighed. "Well, at least we're free. You wanna do some fishing?"

"Why not? It's a soothing, peaceful activity."

Summer snickered even as she pulled out her fishing rod. "Clearly your dad has never fished up a Gyarados."

"...seriously?"

"Oh yeah. Dad used to take me and Vince camping every year. Nice little site in the Pastoria Marsh."

"...I believe I need to hear that story."

"Oh, you do. You definitely do."

Summer's rod bent, the reel spinning wildly. "Ooh, got a nibble! Andromeda, help me pull it up!"

"Is that not a little like cheating?"

"I've got a Psychic-Type! Do you think I'm not gonna cheat?!"

Andromeda's eyes glowed with Confusion as she began pulling on the line as well, causing a burst of water as the fish on the line was pulled up. "Arro!"

The fish flopped onto the ground and splashed back into the water, poking its head out and glaring.

"Alex?"

"Just a moment..."

**"Arrokuda, the Rush Pokémon. Water-Type. If it sees any movement around it, this Pokémon charges for it straight away, leading with its sharply pointed jaw. It's very proud of that jaw. This specimen is male, Level 4, has the Ability Swift Swim, and knows the moves Peck and Aqua Jet."**

Summer blinked. "Huh. Not bad... oh, what the heck."

She bent down beside the Water-Type. "Hey. I'm terribly sorry about the disruption to your daily activities."

Arrokuda glared harder.

Summer opened her purse and pulled out a small bag, revealing a small quantity of Poke Beans. "Would you like one? They're quite good."

Arrokuda gazed distrustfully, then opened his mouth and allowed Summer to place a bean on his tongue. He bit down, and bliss lit up his expression.

Summer smiled. "I think we got off on the wrong foot. My name is Summer, and this is Andromeda."

Andromeda chirped merrily, and Arrokuda nodded in return.

"Anyways... I'm on a journey across this region. I want to see all there is to see in the world. Vast oceans, tall mountains... I'm going to explore all of it. Sounds cool, right?"

Arrokuda nodded, looking almost dreamy at the concept.

"And I'm probably gonna need a Water-Type at some point. Would you be interested?"

Arrokuda blinked in surprise. "Kuda?"

Summer grinned. "C'mon, you don't really wanna spend your whole life in this lake, do you?"

The fish seemed to ponder this for a second, then shook his head no. Then he made a little motion at Summer's belt.

"So you wanna come with me, then?"

Arrokuda nodded, then pointed his sharp beak into the water.

"Ahh. Alright, go ahead. I'll wait for you."

Arrokuda dove, streaking away under the water.

Alex frowned. "What was that about?"

"Well, he's probably got friends in there. He needs to say goodbye, doesn't he?"

…

Vincent and Emily had found them a minute before Arrokuda returned, and Summer was somewhat surprised to see no Yamper in tow. "You didn't catch it?"

"Played with her a little while, then some of her mates came along, including a very impressive Boltund. Figured she'd be better off in her pack. And I also didn't want to be on the receiving end of a Thunder Fang. What about you?"

"Found an Arrokuda. He's just- oh, there he is!"

Arrokuda had swum back up to the surface, smiling. "You took care of your affairs, then?"

Arrokuda nodded and waved a fin at a small group of Pokémon- a few other Arrokuda and a pair of older Barraskewda. "Ah, your family's seeing you off?"

"Ku."

Summer pulled out a Poke Ball. "Alright, then. Good to have you on board, Aquarius."

She tapped the sphere to her newest teammate, and in a flash of red light, Aquarius was officially her Pokémon.

Vincent grinned. "That makes three for you! You're coming along great!"

Summer smirked. "Well, you three are gonna challenge the Pokémon League, aren't you? I'm not about to fall behind you!"

"Well, we are gonna need a training partner. Besides, you might still change your mind!"

"Don't bet on it. Speaking of training, though, you think you could help me with Carina? Until she evolves, she's only gonna have Struggle Bug."

"Yeah, I can manage that. Hephaestus, how do you feel about beating the crap out of a small innocent bug that never did anything to you in her life?"

"_Sounds like fun!_"

**…**

Vincent's Team

Hephaestus (Scorbunny, male) (Tackle, Growl, Ember, Quick Attack) Ability: Libero

Emily's Team

Kong (Grookey, male) (Scratch, Growl, Branch Poke) Ability: Grassy Surge

Snapper (Chewtle, female) (Tackle, Water Gun) Ability: Strong Jaw

Alex's Team

Unda (Sobble, female) (Pound, Growl, Water Gun, Bind) Ability: Sniper

Eques (Rookiedee, female) (Peck, Leer, Power Trip) Ability: Big Pecks

Summer's Team

Andromeda (Hatenna, female) (Confusion, Life Dew, Play Nice) Ability: Anticipation)

Carina (Blipbug, female) (Struggle Bug) Ability: Swarm

Aquarius (Arrokuda, male) (Peck, Aqua Jet) Ability: Swift Swim


End file.
